Tadao Ando’s minimalist concrete structure at Wrightwood 659 currently features the dynamic pulse of technology. Difference Machines: Technology and Identity in Contemporary Art presents 17 new media artists who explore the role of technology in shaping our identities. From Charles Babbage’s “difference engine”, an early form of a programmable computer, to modern machine learning algorithms that design diverse classifiers for processing Big Data, the exhibition traces how technology defines and differentiates identity. With a user guide that explains key technological terms related to the works, our experience navigating the exhibition space feels similar to surfing the web, where we forge impromptu connections with artworks scattered around and are occasionally overwhelmed by information overload.

Installation view of Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, WE ARE HERE BECAUSE OF THOSE THAT ARE NOT (2020). Photo by the author.

A recurring theme within the exhibition is the relationship between technology and social inequality—highlighting how digital technologies amplify identities unequally shaped by society’s existing hierarchy and can even lead to the oppression or erasure of marginalized communities. Mongrel’s Heritage Gold, for instance, is a hack of Photoshop 1.0 that allows users to adjust the class, race, and social status of the photographed subjects by applying filters that reinforce societal stereotypes. Shaped by the early digital age when Photoshop remained a fairly unfamiliar application, this software program offers a critical commentary on the simplistic notion that technological advancement alone could be the panacea for complex social issues. With accompanying photographs (Colour Separation) that stitched poorly adapted filters to the faces of members of Artec, this work also confronts the viewer with the notion that digital technologies are far from neutral and deeply implicated in the social fabric, capable of both reflecting and perpetuating social biases.

Building on the exploration of technology’s role in shaping and sometimes skewering societal perceptions, the exhibition further ventures into examining the dual nature of digital technologies. While works like Mongrel’s Heritage Gold underscore how digital tools can perpetuate and even exacerbate social biases, others delve into how digital technologies can be leveraged for social empowerment and the reclamation of identity. Skawennati’s She Falls for Ages is a prime example of this transformative potential: the installation reimagines the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) creation myth through the framework of science fiction, casting Sky Woman not merely as a character in a tale but as an emblematic figure of cultural resilience. She is reinterpreted as a pioneering astronaut, initiating life on a new Earth. Using machinima, the video showcases digital media’s power to transform indigenous stories, underscoring a renewed sense of identity and providing a visionary perspective on the future of indigenous narratives.

The exhibition productively levels the playing field between digital artworks created over a span of 30 years. The earliest piece, Keith Piper’s Surveillance: Tagging the Other from 1992, sits alongside more recent creations, yet the dialogue between them feels startlingly current. There is a temporal flattening at play: despite the evolution of digital technologies, the core issues these works address remain unchanged. This continuity suggests a persistent struggle within the nexus of technology and identity, where advancements in digital expression have not necessarily translated to social progress. The question then arises: Does the empowerment facilitated within this curated space translate to tangible change outside the museum walls? The artworks, while provocative and engaging within the exhibition context, lead us to reflect on the efficacy of social commentary in art more broadly: Is awareness sufficient to spur action, or does it risk becoming another fleeting interaction in our digital age?

Installation view of Sondra Perry, IT’S IN THE GAME ’18 or Mirror Gag for Projection and Two Universal Shot Trainers with Nasal Cavity and Pelvis (2018). Photo by the author.

In part, the answer is provided by the exhibition’s interactive installations that urge us to move past passive consumption. Take Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley’s WE ARE HERE BECAUSE OF THOSE THAT ARE NOT for example. With exotic aesthetic elements and unsettling music, the video game engages participants with simple keyboard prompts that lead them down different narrative pathways based on their expressed gender identity. The interactive nature of the game intentionally centers on Black trans narratives, offering a curated digital world where these stories are given prominence and agency. While this focus is a powerful statement of inclusive representation, the intentional constraints on limiting the narrative choices available to cisgender players subtly reverse the typical dynamics of representation, placing cis identities on the periphery and highlighting the inevitability of bias in digital technologies.

In this evolving digital revolution, the artworks in the exhibition present individual, sometimes contradictory, narratives that together spark a wider discourse on technology and identity. As we exit, we are prompted to reflect on our role within this narrative and the potential actions we can take. Much like our online browsing experience, where we are inundated with an overload of information, each artwork in this exhibition presents a wealth of insights and perspectives. The impact these works have on us depends on our level of engagement and participation as an audience. It is easy to walk past and disengage, to remain an observer untouched by the deeper narratives unfolding within these digital realms. The new media artworks and the interactivity they offer in this exhibition show us potential paths where technology enables new forms of identity expression and cultural dialogue and provides us with insights into how the digital realm can be a fertile ground for activism, education, and the democratization of voices. Yet, it is through our active engagement that these works gain their true voice, allowing the discourse on technology and identity to transcend beyond the confines of the exhibition and into progress toward a more inclusive society.

Qinghui Wang